text:
Over Maruf
Een veilige omgeving
Maruf Messages
Maruf x Rode Hoed
Open Conference
Open to everyone, registration required
Queer Muslim Geographies
14.30 - 17.00 h - Masterclasses
Interactive session on queer Muslim Geographies:
European and Global perspectives.
19.00 - 22.00h - Open Event
19:30 - 20:30 Panel: "Black consciousness, Afrofuturism and Queer Technopolis", Sarin Drew & Imaan Latif
"I would like to conduct a survey on the experience of the session for my participants. The survey will be centred around concepts of self. I am reading a lot of academic literature on the experience of the Global South subject, the epistemically existential, the damned of society. This idea of subject, or in my case, self, is completely alternative to the conception of the world around me.
For me, the expansion of self came in the form of gentleness towards my process, especially as you grow more conscious you become more aware of all the negativity, aggression, violence, abuse, hurt that neurotically get thrown around and this is painful. The existence of this and knowing you cannot actively or physical change this leads the self to a sense of one's own responsibility to survive despite the circumstance. I translate this anxiety into your responsibility to create this change on the mat through self-reflexive work. With the subtlety of sharing the teachings you create a safe space for people. Participants are encouraged to practice the guidance of movements that support healing, harnessing and empowerment of the active being that is changing infinitely. In this way the self is naturally finding an intrinsic movement pyscho-spiritually away from the colonized mentality.
I believe beyond all the obvious 'Piscean' 'age' cultural characteristics of Western imperial patriarchy, we are overcoming a deep awakening and the glaring responsibility of oppression. We are all students, in need of support and guidance and being reminded of our responsibilities as human beings and spiritual beings.
Is Heedlessness what our spiritual practice needs to move past the anxiety of responsibility? The answers always lie within self and its endless possibilities. As Spiritual Engines, it is how we exist. My research is centred around works by Grosfugel, Dussel, Quijano and Sara Ahmed who draw on realities of different subjectivites but still do not come from an African female location."
Imaan Latif is a visual artist, Muslim Queer activist and Kundalini yoga teacher.
Sarin Drew is a Afro-futuristic Queer content maker, MA researcher and activist.
20:45 - 21:45 Panel: "Queer Muslim Geographies – the story behind"
Different queer Muslim contexts will be presented to the audience. Short statements and talk afterwards.
Queer Muslim Voices
15.00 - 17.00h - In-depth conversation
Panel: "LGBTTIQ* politics and intersectional justice", Rzouga Selmi, Olcay Miyanyedi, Danijel Cubelic,
While intersectional theories and methods are widely discussed in academic circles and led to a growing body of thought-provoking research, their practical implementation in LGBTTIQ* policies for governmental and non-governmental actors alike are still in a process of experimentation. How can we combat racism, discrimination and intersecting forms of structural inequality in LGBTTIQ* movements and institutions?
The panel talk wants to discuss the challenges and real-life implications of intersectionality on a local level. Taking the south-western German state of Baden-Württemberg as a case study, the talk will bring together practitioners from the field of LGBTTIQ* refugee self organizations (Rzouga Selmi, Queer Refugees for Pride/Unicorn Refugees), Queer Muslim spiritual care (Olcay Miyanyedi, Project "Culturally Sensitive Sexual and Gender Diversity", Turkish Community in Germany) and state policy-making (Danijel Cubelic, Advisory Board for Acceptance and Equal Rights Baden-Württemberg/ Head of Antidiscrimination, City of Heidelberg) to critically analyze racism, tokenism and performative politics of inclusion in LGBTTIQ* spaces and provide insights what kind of strategies could lead to a real change in LGBTTIQ* movements and institutions.
19:30 - 20:30 Talk: "Between the Lines: the Search for Non-normative Gender and Sexuality in Iranian Shi'a Discourse", Shekoufeh Behbehani
In his book, Sex Change (2010), Hojattoleslam Mohammad Mehdi Kariminia, a Qum-based Shia cleric, strives to present a specific mapping of gender and sexuality, one which approves the legalization of sex re-assignment surgery (SRS) in Iran and condemns homosexual acts. T his paper examines Sex Change and aims to discover the special meaning of sex change in Iranianized Shi'a fiqh as well as its consequences and implications both for transsexuals and homosexuals. The paper concludes that while legalization of SRS fails to go beyond enabling a narrow and temporary space for expressing and practicing same-sex desires and non-binary gender representations in Iran, it fortifies a discussion on gender and sexuality. Contemporary Iranian films and performances actively engage with politico-religious discourses, offering new ways of understanding non-binary genders and sexuality.
Shekoufeh Behbehani holds an MA degree in Comparative Literature from the University of Amsterdam and is currently part of Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis (ASCA) at the University of Amsterdam, conducting her Ph.D. research. Her previous experience as an intern in the Gender Justice Team at Oxfam Novib and her background in Comparative Literature have developed her interest and knowledge in interdisciplinary research. Her on-going research aims to understand how 'queerness' is defined and approached in contemporary Iranian society through a comparative study of cinematic/performative and politico-religious discourses surrounding sex reassignment surgery (SRS). She is fluent in English and Persian and has an intermediate proficiency in Arabic and Dutch.
20:45 - 21:45 Talk: "Indonesia: Caning homosexuals, Caning Our Islam",
Moh Anshori
Under the Shariah law that is being imposed in the special province of Aceh in Indonesia, homosexual acts are considered a crime and subject to punishment by caning in public. Under this law a gay couple was punished recently with 83 times of caning in Aceh, which has drawn media attention nationally and internationally. Despite that there is no national law in Indonesia that criminalises homosexuality (yet), the negative sentiments and occurrence of raids by conservative religious groups are happening in many parts of the country. In Surabaya 14 men that were accused of being homosexual were raided and abused publicly. In Jakarta 141 men were taken by the police from a sauna. They were accused of being gay and their arrest was justified under the pornography law (which is a problematic interpretation of this law). In East Java 2 trans women were captured by the police. This situation of arbitrary arrests and punishments is likely to become even worse if conservative intolerant groups that currently push for the criminalisation of homosexuality into the new penal code of Indonesia, are successful. These developments in Indonesia are opposite to developments in other parts of Asia, such as the High Court ruling that decriminalises homosexual acts in India, the improved environment in Taiwan and Thailand as well as more acceptance in other neighbouring countries like the Philippines and Timor Leste.
Anshori highlights that the caning in Aceh has made Indonesia become the centre of international attention. The government of Indonesia tries to promote the image that the kind of Islam in Indonesia is different and tries to position itself as a representation of moderate Islam in the world. Aan Anshori tries to show that the acts towards queer people in Indonesia are actually contributing to the perspective that in Islam there are no peaceful teachings and that this religion disregards human rights by denying the humanity of LGBTI individuals. He digs into the qur'anic verses that are often being used to support these anti-LGBTI arguments; he undertakes an in-depth analysis of the Arabic words written in the qur'an when describing Sodom and Gomorah, and looks into the exploitative vs mutual consent formed in a relationship. He also analyses the definition of liwath and the historical background of society described in the qur'anic scriptures.
Moh Anshori will share what positive efforts have been pushed forward and are needed to be supported in light of the political year of Indonesia in 2019. Could the re-interpretations of qur'anic scriptures contribute in trying to influence the national discourses in favour of people with different SOGIESC? What are the contemporary discussions among queer Moslem scholars in Indonesia at the moment? Are there any other opportunities that we can (queer society) use to influence the national narratives and at the same time avoid the notions of the need to criminalise LGBTIQ communities? These questions are proposed to be discussed during the panel at ICRA 2018, where Aan Anshori will be the main presenter/speaker.
Moh. (Aan) Anshori is a progressive Moslem scholar that is part of Jaringan Islam Anti Diskriminasi (Islamic Anti-Discrimination Network). He regularly talks on the issues of sexuality and faith in different venues and writes news articles that are published by The Jakarta Post, Rappler and many others. His Master Thesis talks about 'the re-construction of same-se marriage in Islamic law based on human rights perspective'. He is currently based in East Java, Indonesia.
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
Queer Muslim Performances & Art
15.00 - 17.00h - In-depth conversation
Panel: "Exploring new vocabularies in conversations about religion, race, and politics", Nawal Mustafa & Matthea Westerduin
This masterclass departs from a critical stance toward a secular-religion distinction. The religio-secular opposition presupposes a notion of religion that is internalized and separate from politics. 'Religion' so the argument goes, is inherently dangerous and must be restricted and controlled. Hence, the religio/secular rests on distinctions between good and bad religion. The religio/secular frame however, displaces questions of how this distinction is itself deeply political: liberal thought has mainly problematized non-Christianity, or non-liberal-Protestantism. This production of inequality for non-liberal, non-secular, and/or non-Christian others was often closely entangled with racial hierarchies and colonial politics. In this masterclass we aim to re-politicize religion, and engage in a conversation that includes both critical 'secular' and 'religious' thought and practices. We will depart from our personal experiences and explore how we might enter such a conversation.
Nawal Mustafa is currently a PhD candidate at the Free University Amsterdam. Her PhD research focuses on the historical regulation of interracialized intimacy in the UK in the period of 1950-1970. Previously Nawal worked for Amnesty International, Humanity in Action, and Critical Mass. Nawal is active as board member for Bureau Clara Wichman and De Goede Zaak. Although the world is currently characterized by an immense inequality, Nawal hopes that her efforts, as small as they may be, can contribute to the redistribution of power and help create a more just world.
Matthea Westerduin is a Phd candidate at the Free University Amsterdam, in an NWO funded project In her research she analyzes the ways in which the categories of race, religion, and the secular are entangled with Christian theology in Western Europe. Especially how these interrelations produce exclusionary practices for Muslims today. She worked with artist/activist Ioana Tudor on art-projects about racism, whiteness, and exclusion. Bringing together scholars and activists, Matthea co-designed the course 'Masking the race-religion constellation in Europe and the US'. In these projects she hopes to co-create conditions to engage in more equal conversations about religion, race, and politics, in which alternative futures can be imagined and practiced.
19:30 - 20:30 Fine art exhibition: "Immersive Muslimah", Imaan Latif
Immersive Muslimah is an art exhibition of the photographic visual activism Immersive Muslimah is a response to shifting representation of women of colour from subjects of sexual objectification to subjects of their own divinity, ethereal qualities. This shift can be seen vividly in the representation of African women in Hip Hop music videos. The initial representation was based on emphasizing the sexual promiscuity associated with black women culture, hanging desperately onto the tale of colonial modernity that they have needed to compromising their sense of self. This propaganda went a long way in creating an otherization of the African female body. As an African cultural response, through divisive mechanisms like Islam and Christianity conservatism, the older generation started to buy into the ideal of the conservative and pure African women. This ideal became a form of force and control imposed by African parents on African women as a defense mechanism for the stereotype. The otherization composed of enforced control of representation as well as a societal expectation of African women to in fact be promiscuous. It creates a double consciousness in the body and mind of the African women. One that is able to desire and experience sexual eroticism as any other human does. But whose identity is tarnished by this act of normal human expression, as if "she fell into" the stereotype, pity her. This distaste is the same regard greater society has for black lesbian womxn. The preference for whiteness and "pure behaviour" was not only confined to sexuality. Black women's style became "ratchet", "distasteful" and stereotypically "cheap" in the eyes of white society, which accounts for most of modern society. Black women in this case are not coded with the same protection that white feminity is granted in representation. Female bodies are usually subjected to rape, murder and violence in representation that usually shows a compromised female bodies, whose strength inspires the audiences. This narrative of female representation is transforming. Before, Hip Hop music videos would represent the lead female as usually creole, with a certain proximity to whiteness in style, sexuality, physical features and expression. However, this representation has changed since the proliferation of social media. My hypothesis is because the consumer's labour started rebalancing the representation through social media sites. No longer were consumers blindly consuming mainstream media as the only realm of buying entertaining black content, black content started to produce itself online. This proliferation saw an increase in dark skinner, more Africanized women of culture parading their beauty on these platforms #melanin #darkskin #Afrobeauty.
I see this act of transforming narrative of Queer black female representation on social media as prolific. If more females are able to produce these narrative, conventions and codes that normalize positive imagery and treatment of Queer black female bodies, violence could be significantly reduced. It is the normalization of an abusive representation of Queer black women that I would like to prove is the cause of violence towards women.
To take an intersectional approach, I would further highlight the issue of black lesbian women and their specific vulnerability. Often cast out of their family home for not abiding by normalized feminine culture, lesbian Black Female bodies are independent actors in large urban spaces that harbour rape culture and violence. It is these bodies left to fend for themselves that are specifically vulnerable of being left out of the narrative of liberation. The liberation is not only about representation and epistemologies that misrepresent African geo-political bodies. The Queer African womxn liberation is about a systemic shift on a practical level. Which most literally means resources and investment into basic infrastructure and administration to support these people. In the war against so many forms of oppressions, often those most marginalized are left out of the conversation. Not to say each oppression is not worth changing, but if you attack the foundation of the problem, often the solution is multifaceted and multi-beneficial. We see Black Queer Womxn of Colour as allies to any movement seeking to embark on a war on position. An ideological war that seeks to normalize the success and investment into the marginalized being.
This is especially significant considering the digital sphere and the new ground for egalitarian innovation. The ability to share resources for mutual benefit (instead of hoarding) them could potentially be disruptive. As disruptive as it was to offer a relatively free online platform to have international communication networks. Young Africa is largely Queer accepting, it is the older generation fall victim to a colonial narrative of homophobia and the lack of good citizenship in Africa. This narrative seeks to distort the initiative on the part of many youth to connect within Africa.
20:45 - 21:45 Queer Refugee Short Film Program, Yavuz Kurtulmus
In a time of international crises and wars, a political shift to the right throughout Europe, and ever-rising everyday racism, it is particularly important for us to increase the visibility of minorities within the LGBTIQ community, as well as to increase their – our self-confidence, by having an open dialogue marked by mutual respect. As we all know, the summer of 2015 and the arrival of a large number of Syrian refugees in Europe has sparked discrimination and xenophobia more than Europe ha d experienced in a while. This is more alarming for us as refugees, migrants, people of color, trans*, and dis/abled people within the Queer* spectrum, as we lie at unique crossroads of being minorities within a minority. After all, queer minorities are those most often affected by discrimination and marginalization in society at large. As we begin this walk into this period of uncertainty, it becomes ever more important for us to build community, support each other and love generously. Against this background, there can be little doubt about the importance of a queer refugee film program in the realm of ICRA.
Yavuz Kurtulmus immigrated to Austria in the 1980s with his Turkish/ Macedonian family. Leaving behind a lucrative career in risk management, he began the Queer Migrant movement in Austria with the NGO, 'MiGaY' and in 2012, started TRANSITION, Europe's first film event by, for and about Que er migrants and minorities as a response to the lack of diversity and intersectionality in the Queer cinema scene. His newest project is the Porn Film Festival Vienna, which had its first edition in March 2018.
Closed Conference
Only for queer Muslims, registration required
Detailed information will follow after registration.
In this weekend we will facilitate workshops, trainings, seminars and spiritual activities.
Start: October 4, 14:00h
End: October 6, 14:00h
All places are taken. Registration is not possible anymore.
Do you want to support Maruf, be our partner and ally?
Please, send an email to info@maruf.eu
Stichting Maruf, 2012-2018
Queer moslims bevinden zich vaak op het kruispunt van hun verschillende identiteiten. Ze hebben hierin te maken met uitdagingen om hoe ze zich identificeren. Op individueel niveau of structurele wijze. Enerzijds worden ze afgewezen vanwege hun seksuele oriëntatie, genderidentiteit, expressie of geslachtskenmerken. Anderzijds worden ze uitgesloten vanwege hun etnische afkomst, ras, religie of geloofsovertuiging.
Daarom is Maruf er. Wij zijn er ter ondersteuning van queer moslims en staan voor een open samenleving vrij van alle vormen van uitsluiting.
Maruf is de initiatiefnemer van
de European Queer Muslim Network.
Een veilige omgeving
Empowerment Programma
Maruf x Rode Hoed
Maruf Community
Agenda
info@maruf.eu
Stichting Maruf
1e Weteringsplantsoen 2C
1017 SJ Amsterdam
The Netherlands


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Kelly Isakson, MS, PT has over 10 years of experience casting and fitting custom foot orthotics. Kelly evaluates the patient's walking or running mechanics, discusses their symptoms or concerns, assesses the entire lower extremity chain and collaborates with the treating therapist or physician to identify the correct orthotic. This information, along with a custom cast of the feet are sent to BioMechanical Services Laboratory where the custom orthotics are made.
For kids under age 16, we offer a special rate of 3 pairs for $300 or 5 pairs for $500 of orthotics. Parents pre-pay for all 3 pairs or 5 pairs of orthotics then simply contact us to re-evaluate and re-cast when the child outgrows their orthotics.


The 2018 Toyota Prius c from High Country Toyota in Scottsboro, AL – serving Albertville, Anniston, Fort Payne, Gadsden, Guntersville, and Madison – is a spunky hatchback with hybrid power. Eye-popping colors are just a part of what gives this hybrid car its signature style. Sporty details line the exterior for an aggressive look that's playful and confident on the road. The 1.5L hybrid engine maximizes your fuel consumption with an impressive 48 MPG in the city.1 The special EV driving mode will enable electric driving for one-half mile, and the ECO mode can limit features like automatic climate control to save energy. Monitor your Toyota Prius c's performance with the standard energy monitor that displays how your hybrid system is working in real time. You can sit back and relax during the rest of your drive in the cozy cabin while Bluetooth streams your favorite playlist through the wireless mobile connection.


text:
Engineering3
Broughton Hall, NC State University (Raleigh, N.C.)6
Burlington Nuclear Reactor Laboratories, NC State University (Raleigh, N.C.)4
Clark Hall, NC State University (Raleigh, N.C.)4
Armed Forces -- Officers20
Historic buildings20
Military cadets18
North Carolina State College. Office of Information Services[remove]118
North Carolina State University -- Buildings48
North Carolina State College26
United States. Army. Reserve Officers' Training Corps22
Shumaker, Ross Edward, 1889-196017
University Archives Photographs118
Still image[remove]118
Black-and-white print (photograph)118
Architectural photographs20
Interior views13
You searched for: Format Still image Remove constraint Format: Still image Names North Carolina State College. Office of Information Services Remove constraint Names: North Carolina State College. Office of Information Services
Campus of the North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering, in Raleigh, capitol of the state.
Class in hydraulics preparing to measure horsepower of stream
Kitchen staff preparing vegetables in Leazar Hall, North Carolina State College
Leazar Hall, NC State University (Raleigh, N.C.)
Winter view of quonset huts used for temporary classrooms after World War II
1911 Building, NC State University (Raleigh, N.C.)
1911 dormitory
A recoilless rifle claims the attention of three North Carolina State College ROTC cadets
Aerial view of North Carolina State College, looking northeast
Aerial view of of North Carolina State College campus, looking west toward quadrangle and diesel engineering fountain
Broughton Hall, NC State University (Raleigh, N.C.)
Aerial view of Patterson Hall, diesel engineering fountain, and Reynolds Coliseum construction
Broughton Hall, NC State University (Raleigh, N.C.), Patterson Hall, NC State University (Raleigh, N.C.), Reynolds Coliseum, NC State University (Raleigh, N.C.)
Agronomy graduate students, North Carolina State College
Air Force ROTC officers surveying the terrain
Alexander and Turlington Residence Halls, North Carolina State College, November 1, 1940
Alexander Residence Hall, NC State University (Raleigh, N.C.), Turlington Residence Hall, NC State University (Raleigh, N.C.)
Alumnae W. C. Hopkins and E. C. Latham viewing a painting by Dick Mandell
Erdahl-Cloyd Union, NC State University (Raleigh, N.C.)
Architectural model of Harrelson Hall, North Carolina State College
Harrelson Hall, NC State University (Raleigh, N.C.)
Arriving for a ceremony at Memorial Tower
NC State University Memorial Belltower (Raleigh, N.C.)
Back entrance to Holladay Hall, North Carolina State College
Becton Hall, North Carolina State College
Becton Residence Hall, NC State University (Raleigh, N.C.)
Boy watching North Carolina State College ROTC cadets marching.
Broughton Mechanical Engineering Building
Burlington Nuclear Laboratories, the focus of nuclear activities on the North Carolina State College campus
Burlington Nuclear Reactor Laboratories, NC State University (Raleigh, N.C.)

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Orthodontics is a specialty within dentistry that specializes in treating malocclusion or "bad bite." Malocclusion describes a variety of conditions caused by crooked or improperly positioned teeth. In addition to being unattractive, malocclusion can cause problems with chewing and speech. Our orthodontist can treat a variety of issues with the latest technology.
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pain management and other disciplines. Nurse practitioners, physician assistants, chiropractors, physical therapists, practice administrators and other allied health care professionals involved in spine care also are represented.
Why is a multidisciplinary approach to back pain so important?
example, medications, spinal injections and coping strategies), body mechanics/ergonomics and various forms of exercise including complimentary approaches like Pilates or yoga.
Sometimes back pain will resolve itself with one form of treatment, but not always. With a multidisciplinary treatment program, a patient may take advantage of multiple forms of treatment simultaneously with better results. The goal is to find the right combination of treatments to alleviate back pain, and most importantly—improve overall quality of life.
www.spine.org or call (866) 960-NASS.
Back pain is no laughing matter. In fact, nearly everyone in their lifetime will suffer with some type of back pain. Because back and neck pain are such common complaints, it's no surprise that people have a lot of unanswered questions on the topic. This booklet briefly addresses some of the most commonly asked questions NASS members receive about back pain, its treatment and prevention.
and nerves. Through everyday activities—exercise, lifting, playing a sport, etc.—these areas may be pulled, strained, stretched or sprained. Sometimes, small tears that occur in the outer layer of a spinal disc can result in severe pain. Many people experience pain from an abnormal disc that may be degenerating, bulging or even herniated. Even if the actual tissue damage is considered minor—and likely to repair on its own—the intensity of the pain might be quite severe.
There is often a chain reaction which contributes to a person's pain experience. In the body, numerous chemical substances are released in response to tissue irritation or injury. These substances "stimulate" the surrounding pain-sensitive nerve fibers, resulting in the sensation of pain. Some of these chemicals trigger the process of inflammation, or swelling, which also contributes to pain. The chemicals associated with this inflammatory process feed back more signals which perpetuate the process of swelling. The inflammation from this cycle of events may persist for days to weeks. So…what exactly causes back pain?
How long does an episode of back pain typically last?
No matter how long it lasts, back pain isn't fun when it's happening to you or someone you love. Unfortunately, the duration and severity of a single episode cannot be predicted based on the onset, location of pain, or even the initial severity. There are three general categories of pain—acute, chronic and recurrent acute.
months at a time and is often less correlated to tissue damage or injury and may be the result of a more long-term spine condition or other related factors such as muscle weakness, body weight, and certain life stressors. Recurrent acute pain is intermittent— it comes and goes or "flares up" from time to time.
The NASS "Back Pain in America" survey found that one in five people rely on prescription medications under the care of their doctor to treat their back pain. Despite the name, muscle relaxants are medications that don't actually relax skeletal muscle. What these drugs do is calm or sedate the central nervous system and can be also useful to facilitate sleep and reduce contributing emotional or muscular tension associated with severe back pain.
Narcotics or opioids are strong pain relievers and help reduce the symptoms of acute back pain. Because these types of drugs are sedatives, they also can be useful in facilitating sleep during the first few nights after the symptoms first occur. These medications should be used only as prescribed by a physician.
When I'm experiencing back pain, should I lay flat and rest my back?
Actually, some of the best advice for treatment of acute back pain is to get out of bed and remain as active as tolerated. Continuing to perform everyday activities may seem counterproductive, and the natural inclination may be to stay on the sofa and avoid activity. Yet, activity may be exactly what you need to keep blood and nutrients flowing to the affected area, inhibiting inflammation and reducing muscle tension.
Many people who suffer from back pain find that they can perform their usual, but more controlled cardiovascular activities—such as walking—in spite of the pain, and often feel better as a result. More vigorous or uncontrolled activities such as weight lifting, competitive or contact sports are not recommended when the pain is severe. Consult with your physician before returning to these types of activities.
Should I ice or heat a low sore back?
This is probably one of the most commonly asked questions about treatment of back pain. Both ice and heat can help in alleviating pain, but it's important to know when to use them. Ice reduces inflammation or swelling by decreasing blood flow from constricted blood vessels. Placing an ice pack on the area shortly after the pain begins (within 48 hours) can help with pain relief. Apply an ice pack to the affected area for up to 20 minutes every two hours, but remember to protect your skin from frostbite by using a thin sheet or towel.
Local application of heat or ice can temporarily reduce back pain and heat may facilitate stretching. Heat also is good for soothing sore back muscles, especially after the initial 48 hours has passed. Either dry heat (such as an electric heating pad) or moist heat (such as a hot bath or steamed towels) can be used. It is important to keep in mind, however, that ice and heat do not necessarily speed long term recovery.
Does my weight matter much in relation to my back pain?
Your personal fitness will contribute to the overall health of your spine and weight control is an important component to maintaining a healthy back. Keeping on additional weight, especially in the mid-section or stomach, shifts your entire center of gravity forward and puts additional unneeded strain on your back muscles and surrounding tissues. We recommend keeping within 10 lbs. of your ideal weight to avoid experiencing unnecessary back pain or related issues.
However, it is also possible to be too thin. Extreme thinness can be accompanied by low bone mass, putting you at risk for osteoporosis. The best advice is to eat a well-balanced diet in moderate quantities and exercise regularly to keep your weight in check.
What is the best type of exercise to alleviate and prevent back pain?
• Do each exercise slowly.
Does my sleeping position and mattress choice matter in avoiding back pain?
Many people don't realize that sleeping on your back puts 55 lbs. of pressure on your spine—but simply placing a couple of pillows under your knees cuts the pressure in half. Lying on your side with a pillow between your knees also reduces the pressure on your low back.
There are a wide variety of choices today when it comes to selecting a mattress. Mattresses and box springs work together to provide support for your body while you sleep. You can find mattresses with varying levels of firmness, innerspring options, etc. There is not a single type of mattress that works for everyone. We recommend trying several in the store before making a purchase—many companies offer a trial period so you can sleep on a new mattress for up to a month to ensure you're comfortable and pain free.
What is the proper posture to avoid injuring my back?
As a child, you probably heard a parent or teacher tell you to "stand up straight!" Simple as it sounds, maintaining proper posture is an important way to keep the many intricate structures in the back and spine healthy and help reduce the incidence and levels of back and neck pain. Not maintaining good posture and adequate back support can add strain to muscles and put stress on the spine. Over time, the stress of poor posture can change the anatomical characteristics of the spine, leading to the possibility of constricted blood vessels and nerves, as well as problems with muscles, discs and joints. All of these can be major contributors to back and neck pain.
Standing—Keeping one foot forward, with knees slightly bent, takes pressure off your low back.
Sitting—Sitting with your hips slightly higher than your knees reduces low back strain.
Reaching—Stand on a stool to reach things that are above your shoulder level.
What are the proper ways to move heavy objects and lifting techniques to avoid injuring my back?
buttocks protruding out backward. This position keeps your lower back in a neutral, safer position.
Keep the weight close—When you lift and carry a heavy object, keep the weight as close to your body as possible.
be easier to carry than one large one and also reduces the stress on one side of the body.
Avoid twisting—A surefire way to harm your back is by twisting when lifting an object because it puts too much pressure on the structures of the lower back.
Push instead of pull—Pushing is much easier on your back than pulling. Use your arms and legs to start the push. If you must move a heavy item, don't do it alone—get someone to help you.
If I have chronic back pain, would it be better to have surgery?
There is no simple answer to this question. Treatments for chronic back pain will vary depending on the type and source of the back pain. If a treatable source of the pain is found, then the underlying process can be addressed. When the underlying cause is either not specifically identifiable or not amenable to treatment, then the symptoms are treated. The goals of the treatment are to reduce pain, improve quality of life and increase function.
There are several different general categories of treatment recommended for chronic back pain. They include physical therapy, medications, coping skills, procedures and alternative medicine treatments. Your treating physician should tailor a program involving a combination of these options to address your needs. Actually, 90% of the care NASS members provide is nonsurgical.
We have found that only 1% of back pain sufferers need surgery.
A NASS survey revealed that more than half of the responders with back pain turned to a back or spine specialist such as a chiropractor, physical therapist, physiatrist, orthopedic surgeon or neurosurgeon for treatment. Your primary care physician should be helpful in pointing you to the most relevant specialist for your back pain. Each care plan is then tailored to the individuals' specific medical needs. For more information on spine care or to find a spine specialist in your area, visit www.spine.org or call (866) 960-NASS.
How do I choose a specialist to treat my back pain and which type of specialist is best?
Consumer resources from the North American Spine Society For additional information on back pain, conditions and treatments, go to www.spine.org.
of all musculoskeletal conditions with a special interest in women's health and performing arts. She serves in national leadership roles as a board member of the North American Spine Society and National Association of Spine Specialists, and is the current President of the Physiatric Association of Spine Sports and Occupational Medicine.
Rehabilitation Medicine with joint appointments in the Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, and Neurological Surgery. His medical practice primarily focuses on the management of spinal and other musculoskeletal conditions without surgery, with a particular interest in spinal problems in athletes and exercise therapies for back pain. He is an active member of the North American Spine Society and is currently a member of the Board of Directors.


text:
Salty groundwater supports life in Antarctica's extreme Dry Valleys
Mars-like conditions prevail in a water supply that feeds several under-ice lakes.
Scott K. Johnson - Apr 30, 2015 9:47 pm UTC
Jill Mikucki
It's easy to forget that Antarctica is a desert, given that very nearly the entire continent is covered by a thick sheet of ice. But snowfall is very slow to add to that white mantle, as the cold air and ocean around Antarctica aren't exactly going to provide prodigious production of atmospheric moisture.
As its name implies, one of the driest and weirdest locales in a very weird continent is the McMurdo Dry Valleys. This area near the coast is the biggest chunk of Antarctica not covered by ice. Bare rock is found there, and not a whole lot else.
There is, however, an unusual feature known as Blood Falls. At the end of Taylor Glacier, which spills into one of the Dry Valleys (Taylor Valley, actually), a mysterious red trickle of salty, iron-rich water periodically stains the ice as it spills out like blood from a wound. It's a good thing that it isn't a paranormal message from ghosts warning researchers to leave the valley, because it has had the opposite effect—it draws them in. In 2012, for example, biologists looking for signs of life eking out an existence in the Dry Valleys discovered that Blood Falls contained an impressive community of microbial life.
It is thought that the weight of the glacial ice is squeezing these periodic flows out of the sediment beneath, but the bigger question is what that water is doing there in the first place. It's cold enough in this area that Taylor Glacier should be frozen to its bed—which ought to be made of frozen sediment. But that assumes fresh water. The Blood Falls water is salty enough to stay liquid down to -6 degrees Celsius at surface pressure (and could go lower at higher pressure). So where is this briny water coming from?
To learn more, a group led by University of Tennessee, Knoxville microbiologist Jill Mikucki flew a giant electromagnetic transmitter up Taylor Valley. The huge loop induces an eddy current that penetrates below ground, and a smaller pick-up coil measures the decay of the resultant magnetic field. That produces measurements of electrical resistivity, which differs between ice, freshwater, and salty water.
Getting the rig airborne.
Two huge, low-resistivity zones consistent with brine-soaked sediment made a surprise appearance amidst the permafrost. There are three salty, ice-covered lakes in the valley fed by the small amount of meltwater that forms atop the glaciers—one lake at the snout of Taylor Glacier and two lakes astride Canada Glacier, which dumps into the valley halfway between Taylor and the sea. There's also briny groundwater that is at least as salty as those lakes and seems to connect to them.
One zone of groundwater extends from beneath Taylor Glacier—where Blood Falls is—to underlie the lake there. The other groundwater zone appears to join the two lakes separated by Canada Glacier and then reaches all the way to the sea, oozing below a thick surface layer of permafrost.
Enlarge / Map and simplified cross-section of Taylor Valley and its salty groundwater.
Mikucki et al., Nature Communications
There were actually a few boreholes drilled in the area in the 1970s, a couple of which either produced some brine or hinted at the possibility of water, but it was pretty unclear whether this was something quirky and local or an indication of a larger sub-zero groundwater system.
As for the source of this super-salty groundwater, thinking about Taylor Valley as it is today won't give you an answer. You have to go way back—like more than 10 million years back. During that warmer period, sea level was higher, and Taylor Valley was a seawater-filled fjord. As the climate cooled, the freezing of that seawater could have increased the saltiness of any remaining water, since crystallizing ice rejects salt. The chemistry of the water at Blood Falls, for example, matches concentrated seawater. That saltier seawater could have soaked into the valley floor, remaining to the present day.
So it seems likely that Blood Falls' source is this briny groundwater. And if there are bacteria living in the water of Blood Falls, it stands to reason those bacteria live in the groundwater, as well—an unexpected ecosystem in a terribly inhospitable environment surviving because the water is too salty to yield to the frigid temperatures. Those bacteria are probably getting their energy from breaking down minerals in the sediment.
All this is interesting for understanding the McMurdo Dry Valleys, but researchers also study this area as a possible analog for Mars. Perhaps salty groundwater once provided an unlikely bastion for life in the harsh environment of the Red Planet, too.
Open Access at Nature Communications, 2015. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7831 (About DOIs).
Scott K. Johnson Scott is an educator and recovering hydrogeologist who has been covering the geosciences for Ars since 2011.
Email scott.johnson@arstechnica.com // Twitter @SJvatn
blargh Ars Legatus Legionis et Subscriptor
It took the video a while to get to the money shot, but no kidding, that's a huge loop to hang off the bottom of a helicopter.
Wheels Of Confusion Ars Legatus Legionis et Subscriptor
blargh wrote:
You could deGauss all of Times Square with that thing!
(If any of those displays actually needed degaussing, which they don't).
27292 posts | registered Jan 17, 2009
Wall Smack-Fu Master, in training
They keep comparing everything in Antarctica to Mars, but i think Europa is a better comparison. Mars doesn't have liquid water currently, but Europa has a salt water ocean. That means a real chance at finding alien microbes, and maybe even alien fish!
Veritas super omens Ars Praefectus et Subscriptor
Scientists are just like teenagers in a slasher movie. "Hey I heard something wierd down that dark basement. I'm gonna go and check it out." cue creepy music.
Very interesting, and as the saying goes "Life finds a way".
HonkyLips Ars Centurion et Subscriptor
Veritas super omens wrote:
No shit:
http://mentalfloss.com/article/63556/fi ... antarctica
Wall wrote:
Actually, Mars probably has some sub-surface water. Perhaps even liquid brine.
Wheels Of Confusion wrote:
Saying "alien fish" seems redundant to me.
edit: sorry wheels quoted the wrong post.
isaac the k Ars Centurion
Well, more like:
"I'm gonna go check it out with a spotlight and magnifying glass. Also, a wire loop the size of a house to measure how whatever's down there responds to electrical fields..."
They find a blinded and seizing serial killer... Let's disect him!
Wait a minute...
iEvolution2 Account Banned
Is the Dead Sea more salty or these lakes? Dead Sea is also red in colour too? When Earth was formed, there must be these same type of salty rocks containing heavy iron settling in different part of reglions on Earth.
Stargrazer Ars Praetorian
The interesting question is not "Which extraterrestrial environment is most similar to Antarctica?", it is "How can we use terrestrial environments to gain insight into extraterrestrial environments?". Obviously, we're not going to find a terrestrial environment that's exactly like Mars or Europa (or Enceladus, or...), so what you do is look for different parts of the puzzle in different places. You might be looking in barren deserts for one thing, and on parts of Antarctica for others.
In the specific case of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, we're looking at an arid place with extremely low precipitation where there are areas in which ice has previously existed on the surface, but over time has retreated below ground. This makes it a very interesting place for comparisons to Mars, since this is pretty much what we expect has happened there.
whodatdere Wise, Aged Ars Veteran
"Those bacteria are probably getting their energy from breaking down minerals in the sediment."
jamall Ars Praetorian
Enceladus or bust...
steve.rsa Smack-Fu Master, in training
That is our older style, 341m2 frame. There is a newer 541m2 frame as well.
Have a look on the SkyTEM website.
1 post | registered May 4, 2015


text:
People Are Freaking Out Over How Much Gigi Hadid Looks Like Cersei Lannister
There's A New Deleted Scene From 'Game of Thrones' Season 8
The 'Game Of Thrones' Cast Filmed An Alternate Ending And We Need To See It Now
Emilia Clarke Says She Was Pressured To Do Nude Scenes To Not "Disappoint" 'Game Of Thrones' Fans
Emilia Clarke *Finally* Revealed Who The 'Game of Thrones' Coffee Cup Actually Belonged To
The 'Game Of Thrones' Prequel Starring Naomi Watts Has Been Cancelled
Sophie Turner And Kit Harington Unknowingly Recreated An Iconic 'Game of Thrones' Scene On The Red Carpet
The 'Game of Thrones' Cast Look Ready To Claim The Iron Throne At The 2019 Emmys
Icon Gwendoline Christie Submitted Herself For An Emmy Nomination
Which 'Game of Thrones' Character Are You In The Office?
This Scrapped 'Game Of Thrones' Scene Would Have Literally Changed Everything
Fans Of Game Of Thrones' Jamie And Brienne Finally Get Some Closure - We Got Their Final Scene All Wrong
This "Traumatic" Deleted Scene From 'Game of Thrones' Proves A Major Theory Wrong
"It was a really traumatic, great moment for Cersei" - by Isabelle Truman
During the final season of Game of Thrones, fans (including us right here) speculated non-stop about whether Lena Headey's character, Cersei Lannister, was actually pregnant or whether is was another of her evil manipulations; She used her pregnancy to play both her brother/lover, Jamie, and Euron Greyjoy, after all.
But today Headey confirmed that despite lying and manipulating her way through eight seasons, Cersei was in fact with child. In an appearance at a comic book convention in Munich, Germany, Headey said that Cersei was originally supposed to lose the baby in season seven, but that directors ended up cutting the scene.
"We shot a scene that never made it into season seven, which was where I lose the baby. And it was a really traumatic, great moment for Cersei, and it never made it in," she said.
"And I kind of loved doing that because I thought it would have served her differently," the actress continued, likely meaning fans of the series would have sympathised with her character and that it would have shown Cersei's softer side, which we saw glimpses of in earlier seasons (usually when her children were involved).
Another interesting element to note is the prophecy by Maggy the witch which we saw in season five, saying that Cersei would have three children and that all three would die before her. This doesn't account for a fourth child, meaning directors of the show always meant for Cersei to lose her child - whether it be by miscarraige in season seven, or being crushed to death in season eight.
Earlier this week, Headey opened up about the way her character died, saying she wished Cersei had gone a "better" way. "I will say I wanted a better death," she told The Guardian. "Obviously you dream of your death. You could go in any way on that show. So I was kind of gutted. But I just think they couldn't have pleased everyone. No matter what they did, I think there was going to be some big comedown from the climb."
WATCH: Gwendoline Christie predicted the end of Game of Thrones years ago


It worries me what people find and think I need to see.
I'm leaving off credit on this one because it's horrifying. It is also burningly NOT worksafe, NOT even R-Rated but X-rated, and mindsearingly eldritch and menacing.
and is gummy so that it can attract fuzz.
This is so wrong it may collapse space time.
My roommate wants one of these now.
That is, quite possibly, the best thing ever.
Hahaha, I scrolled over the link and briefly debated clicking because the roommate deserves passive aggressive retribution for inordinate amounts of country music. But. I value what's left of my soul.
And pretty damn hard to clean too, I bet.
I can imagine the screams of GETtoFUCKAWAYfrommewithTHAT!
And that's before YE ELDRITCH PULSATIONS start.


The packs of crackers are really generous, there are loads in there, which is great considering some crisp packets have about two crisps in them. The dips are both quite sweet and tangy and again there is lots of dip, so you might even have some left over for a sandwich. These pots are really great value too at £1.50 a box in Sainsbury's and Boots and they are totally vegan yay!!! So get to the shops and pick up some of these great vegan snacks!


text:
How Ernesto Valverde remodelled Greek football during his defining stints at Olympiacos
21/02/2019 by Panos Kostopoulos
Back in 2008, when Johan Cruyff was asked by Joan Laporta who would be the most suitable replacement for the outgoing Frank Rijkaard, he pointed to Pep Guardiola. The Blaugrana were ready to turn the page and Rijkaard gathered all his staff at a local restaurant for a farewell dinner.
Just next to where they were having their wine, the Dutchman spotted a familiar figure. Sitting next to his agent Iñaki Ibañez and the general manager of Olympiacos, Giannis Chrysikopoulos, Ernesto Valverde was all set to bid his own farewell to the Catalan city.
In a move that would later modernise the Greek champions and revolutionise football in the Balkan country, the Espanyol coach was about to agree terms to take over at Olympiacos. "Life is full of coincidences, as the evening before Ernesto's definitive 'yes' to the Olympiacos proposal, me, Mr Chrysikopoulos and Valverde were having dinner at a Barcelona restaurant," Ibañez told Sport24. "Right next to us was Rijkaard, who had a farewell dinner with his staff. The next day I realised that in that restaurant Rijkaard was saying adios to Barcelona and Ernesto was saying hola to Olympiacos."
Cruyff believed that coincidence is logical and what was happening in that restaurant back in May 2008 made complete sense. While Barcelona were in need of a fresh start, 3,000km to the east, Olympiacos sought a coach who would introduce them to a new, contemporary era of football.
As Guardiola would demonstrate to everyone across Europe during his Barcelona tenure, modern football dictated rapid ball movement, interchange and a technical, attacking mindset.
That was exactly what the then Olympiacos owner, Sokratis Kokkalis, sought to bring to his team. "I believe that Valverde is one of the best new coaches in Spain," he told the press conference during the official presentation of the Spanish tactician. "He was our target due to the style of football that his teams were playing in Spain. We want Olympiacos to play modern, fast and beautiful football and I believe that he is capable of making that happen."
Read | The forgotten genius of Vasilis Hatzipanagis, a player once likened to Maradona
Valverde arrived in Greece to replace the current Barcelona general manager Pep Segura, who had just won the domestic double as coach of the giants. To put it into context, Olympiacos were far from a side in crisis, desperate to turn the page and build something new. As a matter of fact, the club had won 11 out of the previous 12 Greek league titles, while they had also established a reputation as a Champions League club.
Olympiacos had been ceaselessly featuring in the tournament since 1998, but this was something that was about to end.
In his official debut, Valverde saw his team thrashed by Anorthosis Famagusta in the Champions League qualifiers. The Cypriot side knocked out Erythrolefki (Red-Whites) 3-1 on aggregate, and although the team would advance to the Europa League group stage, it was a major blow for the fans and an early setback for the new regime.
Despite the disappointment of elimination, the team hit the ground running in the league, remaining undefeated until the end of October. The players started showing glimpses of Valverde's brand of football and the inauguration of the new Olympiacos was set to place at the Karaiskakis Stadium on 27 November against Benfica.
A team featuring the likes of David Luiz, Óscar Cardozo, Nuno Gomez and José Antonio Reyes were thrashed 5-1 as Valverde's side offered one of the best first-half displays in the history of the club. And, for a club as successful as Olympiacos, that's quite something.
While Guardiola was introducing his glorious tiki-taka to the world, Valverde was affording the Olympiacos fans their own dreams, centred around a similar approach to the game and a new era of brilliance, It was fast, stylish and composed – and it was dominant.
Read | How Cruyff and the Netherlands inspired the incredible coaching odyssey of Sergio Markarián
Traditionally a team mostly dependent on their superstars' individual performances, Olympiacos were slowly entering the modern era. Attacking from the back, putting pressure on their rivals, maintaining possession and continuous movement with and without the ball were just some of the innovations that the Spaniard introduced to the fans that night in November.
Olympiacos went on to beat Hertha 4-0 and progress to the Europe League round of 32, where they were knocked out by Saint-Étienne on 5-2 aggregate.
Despite elimination from Europe, however, Valverde achieved the team's ultimate target of winning the domestic double in style. While Olympiacos clinched the Super League, suffering just three defeats, the team also reached the cup final, which was to be of the most astonishing encounters in the history of Greek football, to beat AEK Athens on penalties.
A game of eight goals – four of which were in extra time – various comebacks and three red cards finished in a 4-4 draw and a shootout, where, after almost 30 penalties, the Erythrolefki prevailed against their opponents. "In his first term, Valverde put his seal on Olympiacos and that's why he is treated as a god in Greece," said striker Darko Kovačević years later to praise his former coach. "He taught me many things and made me see football from a different perspective."
With a domestic double in the bag, Valverde departed Greece seeking a challenge back in his native country, before returning to Olympiacos a year later to find a club which had managed to reach their nadir.
In his absence, they had finished fifth in the league and kicked-off the 2010/11 season with an embarrassing elimination from European competition against Maccabi Tel Aviv. Evangelos Marinakis succeeded legendary president Sokratis Kokkalis, with the fans were concerned about the future of the club.
Read | How Ernesto Valverde took Espanyol to the 2007 UEFA Cup final
The new owner needed drastic change to survive the flux and Valverde was summoned once again to reinvigorate the team, raising the supporters immediately. The current Barcelona boss led his team to glorious European wins against Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund and Marseille, as well as qualification for the Europa League quarter-finals – for the first time in the club's history – and domestic dominance, with two league titles and a cup.
More importantly, he earned the respect of Greek fans, leaving a laudable legacy of a modern model of football, one which Olympiacos have endeavoured to follow since.
After a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the team's fiercest rivals, Panathinaikos, critics pointed to Olympiacos' attacking philosophy as letting them down defensively, but Valverde was adamant that long-term success would be built on attack. "Olympiacos are a team that always try to win, and we need to have an attacking approach, but also play good in defence" he noted. "We acknowledge the risks of this type of football, but this is our philosophy and we aren't going to change it, because that's what our fans like."
To fully comprehend the impact of Valverde, we just need to take a look at his successor on the bench, Leonardo Jardim. The Portuguese was dismissed eight months after his appointment – having been unbeaten in Greece and having reached Europa League's round of 32 – simply because the team were not playing attractive football.
Years after Valverde ended his second term at the club, his interpreter for Olympiacos, Marina Tsali, explained the reasons behind the fans' adoration of the former Athletic Club coach. "To understand why he's so loved here, you have to keep in mind that the Greeks love LaLiga and the style of play of the Spanish teams," she told MARCA. "Valverde was the first person to propose that type of football here and that delighted everyone.
Read | How fascism and political violence infiltrated Greek football
"He was loved, above all, because of how well the team played under him, and he also won titles, while rivals liked him because he was always very respectful of them, and he answered everyone with humility."
When Olympiacos drew Barcelona in the Champions League group stage of the 2017/18 season, Valverde was set to return – this time as a rival – to a place that he felt was his second home. "He was there for two spells and you will see when he goes back how much they love him," one of his former players at Olympiacos, Moisés Hurtado, told MARCA. "He won titles but he also had a very colourful way of playing.
"Moreover, they love him for his personality, as he is not a person who has a big ego or who wants to be the star, and that is highly valued there. The coach is a very important figure there. Ernesto Valverde was a God."
Ahead of the encounter, an article published by the Catalan newspaper Sport labelled him as the man "who could be minister" of Greece. Fans welcomed him back to Karaiskakis with a huge banner reading 'Ernesto gracias por todo', while Marinakis honoured him for his services to the club.
For both the supporters and the players that he managed, Valverde is the coach who modernised Olympiacos' style of football and revolutionised aspects of the game in Greece. It was he who introduced neutrals and partisans to Spain's ultra-modern, successful model, one which promises to have a considerable impact in youth development for years to come.
For Greek fans, particularly those of Olympiacos, the Spaniard is not just the current coach of Barcelona. For them, Ernesto Valverde is més que un entrenador.
By Panos Kostopoulos @Panos88k
Tags: greece, Olympiakos, valverde
Panos Kostopoulos 21/02/2019


text:
Q: Prevent the inside div from inheriting I have one DIV inside another and I want to prevent the inside div from inheriting the cursor css from the container DIV. And prevent the jQuery click functionality on the inside DIV.

        Lorum Ipsum

        Lorum Ipsum

        Lorum Ipsum

CSS
#page_wrapper {
    z-index:1;
    background-color:#ccc;
    padding:20px;
    cursor:pointer;
}
#content_wrapper {
    z-index:20;
    width:300px;
    margin:0 auto;
    background-color:#fff;
    padding:20px;
}

jQuery

Try it here: http://jsfiddle.net/digisol/eUpXk/

A: Try this:
$("#content_wrapper").css('cursor', 'default').click(function(e) {
     e.stopPropagation();
});

DEMO HERE

A: Make these two changes:
jQuery:
$("#page_wrapper").click(function(e) {
       if(e.target === this) alert("Clicked!");
});

CSS
#content_wrapper {
    z-index:20;
    width:300px;
    margin:0 auto;
    background-color:#fff;
    padding:20px;
    cursor: default; /* NEW */
}

jsFiddle example

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


What can I say I love my banner! The friendly folks at Spoonflower were so helpful getting my banner printed.The finished banner was printed on upholstery weight fabric and measures 38" x 55". I finished it off by sewing a hem on all for sides and a wooden pole to hang from. I can't wait to show it off at my craft show next month.


text:
Home Blogs Ask the Expert Aging with Grace in Home Renos
Aging with Grace in Home Renos
How do you renovate a space to make it functional and relevant while also honoring its rich past
Home renovations can be tricky. There are often surprises waiting in the walls when you take it down to its studs. There can be costly upgrades to bring electrical and plumbing up to code. There are uneven door frames from years of settling and paint of undetermined age that may contain lead.
But what of renovations when it comes to a home's character…especially when considering a historical home. How do you renovate a space to make it functional and relevant while also honoring its rich past?
Maybe the best place to start is at the very beginning.
For Lancaster's recently-renovated Press Building, a 6-story historical structure of new condominiums and retail space, the beginning goes back over a century, when the space served as a cigar factory. A devastating fire in 1907 led to its re-birth as the home for the New Era Printing Company. Eventually, as the business gradually relocated elsewhere, the building became vacant in the 90s.
Fast forward decades later to its latest incarnation as a residential space. With the aim of blending the past with the present, the Press Building has kept components of the building's original design while incorporating contemporary features and function.
The concrete beams and columns that once helped to support massive 20-ton printing presses now serve as architectural points of interest within the condominiums. Exposed brick stays true to the masonry and concrete composition of the building. And custom-made windows—all 186 of them across the building, a costly and time-consuming reno—highlight the uniqueness of each unit.
David Lyall of David Lyall Home & Design smartly outfitted the model condo, which will be open to guests of Lancaster Lebanon Habitat for Humanity's Renovators' Home Tour this fall (see below). The furnishings and decorative accents he selected complement the units' brick, hardwood floors and open design concept. The result is a clean yet warm look that lends itself well to an urban, industrial dwelling.
Blending past and present worked well for the Press Building. But what if your home renovation doesn't involve merging the two? What if honoring a home's past means taking it back to its original splendor?
To walk into Anne Williams's home on Lancaster's East King Street is to walk back in time. Or, at the very least, onto the set of Downton Abbey. Built in 1879, Anne believed she would better steward the historical home by restoring it, erasing the years of renovations that altered its interior.
The Eastlake Victorian mansion was once home to Col. Wm. Pieper. In later years, it gave shelter to the Knights of Malta, served as a venue for USO parties and, sadly, turned into a flophouse.
Anne's detective work didn't begin with the custom stencil design she had commissioned for the ceilings and walls. Nor did it begin with the reproduction of period of wallpaper for the entrance hallway (the original wallcovering was framed by the Smithsonian and now hangs for guests to see.) It began with something as mundane and tedious as heating, plumbing, electricity, exterior doors and rear wall … none of which existed when Anne purchased the home.
She saw potential in the 13-foot ceilings, bracket cornice plaster ceiling (missing and damaged pieces, as well) and walnut woodwork. She was able to envision piecing together the dismantled grand staircase, pieces of which (that weren't missing) were stowed away in the home's basement.
In the end, not only has she recaptured a piece of the past, Anne (who is an architectural interior designer herself) believes she did right by the designer's original intentions.
Homes have stories to tell and personalities to share. When considering a renovation, maybe take a listen to what it has to say when taking it into the next chapter of its life.
The Press Building and Anne Williams's home will be among those featured on Lancaster Lebanon Habitat for Humanity's Renovators' Home Tour, Sunday, October 1st. For ticket and event information, please visit www.renovatorshometour.com.
House & Home Decor & Design Ask the Expert


text:
RWJF Culture of Health Prize Winners
An RWJF Collection
2016 RWJF Culture of Health Prize Winner
Explore their stories: Change Agents Youth Leaders Compassionate Cities Advancement Violence
Health Equity Is Their Compass
When poet Hannah Drake drives through her Smoketown neighborhood and past the little white house where her father was born and raised, a discussion of health disparities feels real and personal.
His death, caused by congestive heart failure at age 64, fits a pattern for people in this historically black section of Louisville, Ky. They live, on average, nine years less than residents of many of the city's other neighborhoods and have higher rates of drug and alcohol use, diabetes, heart disease, HIV-AIDS and death from homicide. Poverty, racism and unemployment weigh heavy, and transportation options and healthy foods are elusive because of institutional policies that have widened the gap between rich and poor, black and white.
Drake knew none of the bleak statistics about her neighborhood until she began working with Louisville-based artist innovation company IDEAS xLab after her father's passing. "It all kind of made sense when I thought about my family," she says. Four weeks after her father died, a stroke took his twin brother. Cancer later claimed two of her aunts. Until their deaths, all four of Drake's family members had lived just a few blocks from a swath of buildings that house the highest concentration of hospitals and doctors' offices in the state.
Louisville's civic leaders and health institutions recognize that in the face of generations-deep disparities, proximity to health care services is only part of the story. Good health for all citizens requires so much more—such as having a job, a safe place to live and walk, a place to buy healthy affordable food, a good education, clean air to breathe and a strong social network.
Addressing health inequities across the city
"We're working in ways we've
never worked before."
London Roth leader of Louisville's Bold Goal effort
The city's efforts to right historical wrongs and combat the conditions too familiar to Drake's family, and so many others, led to Louisville's recognition as an RWJF Culture of Health Prize winner. Among the things that distinguish Louisville's expansive efforts is the way the city's arts, business, health, education, law enforcement and social service sectors have come together. They've turned statistics and data into tools to rectify health inequity, respond to neighborhood violence and make the city's impressive health resources available to everyone.
Louisville's agenda for bringing the community together and dissolving disparities was born out of the city's 2003 merger with surrounding Jefferson County—a voter-backed move meant to increase government efficiency and spur economic development. Civic leaders in the newly combined metro area knew they needed to boost development in the core urban communities, which lagged behind the suburbs in many measures of health and well-being. The year of the merger, 13 foundations planted the seeds of change by creating the Greater Louisville Project. This initiative is designed to improve education, jobs and quality of place.
"'How do we create a competitive city for everyone?' was at the heart of the creation of the Greater Louisville Project," says Ben Reno-Weber, its director. "We took something everyone knew, for example, 'kids are dropping out of school at unacceptable rates.' And we asked, 'How do we marry the intuition we have—our schools are unequal—to data in a way that makes people want to act?'"
That question led to the creation of a cross-sector partnership now known as 55,000 Degrees, an effort to boost the number of Louisville residents who have higher degrees. The use of data to tackle injustice also undergirds innovative programs across Louisville's health, education and violence prevention sectors. KentuckyOne Health is using data to identify "familiar faces"—who often use emergency and hospital services because they can't afford preventive care—and keep them from coming back. Today, when those patients are discharged, they are connected to in-home preventive health services, such as nutrition and exercise counseling.
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Runners train for the "Urban Bourbon" half marathon.
Louisville Metro Police Department Chief Steve Conrad, right, and community leaders participate in the West Louisville Peace Walk.
Project H.E.A.L. (Health. Equity. Art. Learning.) drum circle in the Smoketown neighborhood of Louisville.
Data also underlies Louisville's Bold Goal initiative, the health and well-being company Humana's collaborative effort to make the city 20 percent healthier by 2020, as measured by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Healthy Day's tool. Input came from both insurance claims data and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's social determinants of health framework, in-depth interviews and focus groups with community members and a clinical town hall. Based on what the collaborators learned, they will focus on three conditions (diabetes, behavioral health, upper respiratory health) and three barriers (healthy food access, awareness of community resources, transportation) they believe will have the most impact on improving the city's health.
"We're working in ways we've never worked before," says London Roth, who leads Louisville's Bold Goal effort. She says Humana and its more than 50 community collaborators want to use data to impact the health of Humana members and Louisville residents, as well as the environments in which they live. That may mean, for instance, planting trees in an area with high asthma rates and little tree cover rather than just covering inhaler prescriptions, since research has linked an abundance of trees to lower asthma rates.
Targeting the places where disparities have the greatest impact makes sense in a city that is taking as wide a view of health as possible, says Susan Barry, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Louisville, the largest charitable foundation in Kentucky and a leader in the Greater Louisville Project.
"Let's say you have 10 stacking blocks," she says, and each block represents an element of health. "If in three neighborhoods 90 percent of people have six blocks missing, let's focus on those neighborhoods. And if you can intervene and keep those blocks in place [from the start], then people will thrive."
2016 Culture of Health Prize Winner: Louisville, Kentucky
Artists as Change Agents for Better Health
"I don't think art in and of itself can do anything," says Theo Edmonds, artist and co-founder of IDEAS xLab, an artist innovation company in Louisville, Ky." But I think artists can change the world."
More specifically, the former healthcare executive says artists can impact health in surprising ways. He's found believers across Louisville, from the mayor's office and local foundations to the area's healthcare institutions and the University of Louisville. Together, they're out to do transformative things across the city:
A vacant lot in the Smoketown neighborhood will become the venue for a drum circle as part of Project H.E.A.L., a five-year effort that will employ the arts to help residents look for solutions to community health needs.
This fall, a former liquor store will become home to the printmaking and bookbinding activities of Steam Exchange, a free after-school arts program.
A photovoice exhibit, featuring the photographs and written observations of West Louisville residents, will set the stage for a community meeting to pinpoint ways to start taking action to reduce violence in their neighborhoods, which have among the highest violent crime rates in the city.
Roots & Wings, a performing arts group made up of nine young adults of African descent, is addressing community violence, black identity and other topics in neighborhood workshops and main stage performances. They hope to get people talking and thinking about what they can do to level the playing field in Louisville and give everyone a fair shot at success.
In these projects and others, art has become a vehicle for change.
"The power is in the people," says Hannah Drake, a poet and lead artist for Project H.E.A.L. "But sometimes you have to show people they have the power to change anything they want to."
Planting the Seeds of Change
Young people at YouthBuild Louisville do their daily chores, picking weeds in the garden and courtyard of their LEED-certified green campus—just one beat in the rhythm of this 16-year-old vocational training, education and community service program.
"It's part of the garden," says YouthBuild graduate and now intern Brittany Carson, 25, of the need to weed. "You gotta do it every day."
Based on a national model with the dual mission of training young people in construction and building affordable housing, Louisville, Ky.'s YouthBuild teaches participants not only what they have to do, but also what they can do. Not just for themselves, but also for their city and neighborhoods. Program participants—many of whom are young parents—earn high school diplomas and acquire the skills to work in one of four career tracks: construction, environmental design, nursing assistant and culinary arts. What's more, they learn valuable skills—such as showing up on time, being a team player and solving problems—that translate to any field.
"We're making the connection between service, urban design, environmental issues and public health issues," project manager Josh Poe says.
During her time with the organization, Carson has worked on low-income housing construction, planted 40 trees around the city to bring shade to the city's "heat islands," helped build a playhouse for a blind child, and this summer she even traveled to France's Potager du Roi, or King's Kitchen Garden, near Versailles. There she learned urban gardening techniques and other wisdom that seem to apply equally to plant life and to the budding young adults being nurtured at YouthBuild, such as harvesting every day so the plant can continue to grow.
"It's really important to us, when we choose a young person for the program, that we take them on for the long haul," says Executive Director Lynn Rippy. "That means we prepare them educationally, we prepare them vocationally and we prepare them socially to be really active members of this community and advocates for themselves and their children."
"We're making the connection between service, urban design, environmental issues and public health issues."
Josh Poe project manager of YouthBuild Louisville
Young adults participate in YouthBuild Louisville mental toughness training, where the students do carpentry and work in the gardens.
Community youth work in the gardens as part of the YouthBuild Louisville mental toughness training.
How Compassion Can Feed a Movement
In Louisville, compassion is in the air.
It's in the air when young moms recovering from substance abuse gather at a Louisville park with their children to enjoy a summer evening and support each other.
It's in the air when young professionals come together to pool their dollars into a $25,000 gift for a worthy nonprofit's field trip program aimed at empowering at-risk children and youth.
It's in the air when an evicted veteran is quickly able to obtain a Section 8 low-income housing voucher in a city that has, in effect, eliminated veteran homelessness and the backlog of vets waiting for a place to live.
In these scenarios, the concept of compassion—truly caring for and taking care of one another—becomes real. Louisvillians have long been thinking about, discussing and practicing what it means to be "compassionate." The concept became an intrinsic element of the city's policy agenda when Mayor Greg Fischer made it one of his three top priorities—alongside job creation and health promotion—when he took office in 2011.
"We must create an even more compassionate city," he said in his inaugural address. "Where neighbor cares for neighbor, friend for friend, stranger for stranger."
Fischer's declaration brought Louisville into a global movement of individuals and communities committed to putting the Golden Rule into action by signing a "Charter for Compassion" that thousands of people helped author online. Other "Compassionate Cities" in the U.S. include Cincinnati, Houston, Las Vegas and Seattle.
"If we want compassion for ourselves, we have to help others excel and give that compassion back."
Natalie Harris executive director of Louisville's Coalition for the Homeless
Today, Fischer says citizens of Louisville resoundingly tell him they want to work together to make their city a better place. "It's this notion that if we can live in a city where everybody is constantly learning from cradle to grave and we're healthy in all aspects and then we're looking out for each other and lifting each other up, everybody has got a chance to succeed," he says.
Natalie Harris, executive director of Louisville's Coalition for the Homeless, says compassion also has the potential to create a virtuous circle.
"If we want compassion for ourselves," she says, "we have to help others excel and give that compassion back."
Degrees of Achievement
What does a college degree have to do with health? Quite a lot, says Mary Gwen Wheeler, executive director of 55,000 Degrees. Her organization has an audacious goal: see to it that at least half of adults in Louisville, Ky., have an associate degree or higher by 2020.
People with college degrees enjoy higher average incomes, are less likely to have ever smoked or to be obese, have fewer divorces and are more likely to exercise compared to those without a degree.
"We set this goal because we saw it as a proxy for increasing quality of life," Wheeler says.
The dozens of business, education and community-based partners that launched 55,000 Degrees in 2010 have witnessed significant progress. The number of high school students who graduate with the skills to attend college and start their careers reached 63 percent last year, compared with 45 percent in 2012. The number of college students completing degrees has gone up at 4-year institutions, even as enrollment has gone down.
"We've been able to move all populations, but we haven't been able to close the gaps" between white and minority students, Wheeler says. "That led us to the mayor's Cradle to Career initiative. We understood we needed to start much earlier."
YouthBuild Louisville young adults attend a speech class where the students are encouraged to talk about important community issues.
Now 55,000 Degrees is one of four organizations with lead roles in a continuum of programs that begin with preschool and bolster education and training for Louisville residents beyond their high school and post-secondary graduations.
The United Way will spearhead work to get more children into quality preschool programs and prepare more than three-quarters of students for kindergarten by 2020, compared to about half today and a little more than one-third a few years ago.
The school district aims to have every student reading at grade level by the end of third grade. By 2020, it plans to raise the number of students who graduate from high school to more than 9 in 10 and ensure that 85 percent of high school graduates enroll in college, using steps such as summer coaching to keep new graduates on track.
The nonprofit KentuckianaWorks offers training and programming to give working-age residents the skills to get jobs and succeed in the region's manufacturing, tech and healthcare sectors.
Taken together, these efforts will ultimately give more Louisville residents a chance at obtaining a degree—and a better life.
Health advocates meet with a client.
Cynthia Bethel-Jaiteh with her son, Khalil Jaiteh, 3, play in front of the African nations' flags at the festival.
Youth fellows talk about the writing exercise they were given as part of their learning with Youth Violence Prevention Research Center.
Addressing Violence at its Roots
Preventing Youth Violence
One of the most sobering inequities in Louisville, Ky., may be that its most dangerous neighborhoods have violent crime rates 35 times higher than the safest ones. This came into sharper focus in May 2012 when, on a single day, six people were shot and three died in the West Louisville neighborhood of Russell.
With West Louisville's high unemployment, poverty, hunger, drugs, vandalism, abandoned homes, and violent crime, "a lot of risk factors for violence are just bubbling up," says Rashaad Abdur-Rahman, director of the city's Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods, which was formed in the wake of the 2012 shootings. "Youth feel compelled to carry weapons even if they don't intend to use them."
That's because for young people the consequences of not responding to violence with more of the same are extremely high, says Monica Wendel, a professor at the University of Louisville and director of the Youth Violence Prevention Research Center. Those who stand their ground face bullying, shaming, feelings of powerlessness, name-calling, and even more violence.
Wendel has hired West Louisville high school and college students to help uproot the underlying norms that support violence. In spring 2017, the group will launch a campaign to boost young people's understanding of and pride in their African-American heritage and their individual power to be activists for good, while connecting them to social services such as mental health counseling and youth employment programs.
Since last year, Abdur-Rahman's office and its partners have used quarterly meetings between youth and city officials to spark candid conversations and build bridges between the groups. The city is also promoting alternatives to the juvenile justice system for youth who've gotten in trouble with the law. They are matched with case managers and mentors who help them set and achieve academic and employment goals. Another project, launched this spring by KentuckyOne Health, the nonprofit Peace Education Program, the city's health department, and the University of Louisville, employs caseworkers from West Louisville neighborhoods, many of whom have experienced street violence. They invite 18- to 34-year-olds—an age group at high risk of experiencing or perpetrating violence—who have come to the emergency room with gun or knife wounds to join a project called Pivot to Peace. The effort provides wraparound social and emotional supports to help participants move in a positive life direction, safe from retaliation.
"People say, 'A rising tide lifts all boats,' " says Abdur-Rahman. "But how do we lift the boats that most need to be lifted?"
Community members take part in "Walk with a Doc" activity put on by KentuckyOne Health in Shawnee Park.
Flags on display at African Heritage Festival held at the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage in Louisville.


R4ids team released a news that R4i Gold 3DS supporting the newest 3DS V8.0.0-18 directly !
It seems a new 3DS update ver 8.0.0-18 has come out again, and likely to be about security fixes. The change log is below, although it's not really much. Introducing Nintendo 3DS version 8.0.0.18.


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21 May '18
MVMT EXPANDS TO ROYAL OAK, MI. ANNOUNCES PROMOTION OF PENNYCOOK
Movement Search & Delivery, a professional headhunting firm with a global reach, has signed a long-term lease agreement to expand their operations into Royal Oak, MI. The company is currently building out space in the historic Washington Square Building, to house an additional 15+ professional recruiters. In less than eight years, the search firm has […]
MVMT Takes Root In Charleston, SC.
Movement Search & Delivery, a professional headhunting firm with a global reach, recently signed a long-term lease agreement as an anchor tenant in the Pacific Box and Crate development in Charleston's NOMO district. The Michigan-based search firm originally opened in Charleston in early 2015 and had operated in several locations around town before finally setting […]
08 Mar '18
MOVEMENT Celebrates Record Year in 2017 with 2018 Annual Meeting Bash in Detroit
Movement Search & Delivery, a professional headhunting firm with a global reach, recently had their 2018 annual meeting at the MGM Grand in Downtown Detroit to celebrate another record-breaking year and to kick off their 2018 business initiatives. This event is held during the first quarter of each year as every member of the firm […]
According to Forbes, MOVEMENT Ranks Amongst the Top Search Firms
Movement Search & Delivery is celebrating another impressive achievement. The Clarkston, MI. based recruitment firm was recently ranked as the #1 rated executive search firm in Michigan and #30 in the United States according to a comprehensive survey performed by Forbes. "This is quite an accomplishment for a boutique search firm that was founded just […]
Get On-Board With PeopleMover
Movement Search & Delivery, a professional headhunting firm with a global reach, is changing the game for candidates and clients alike with the introduction of their PeopleMover Talent Pipeline Solution to help their clients recruit, identify and deliver high-volume production, skilled, and administrative talent from the labor force. PeopleMover's web portal is custom designed to […]
It's All About The Culture At Movement
Movement Search & Delivery, a professional headhunting firm with a global reach, has a very specific mission statement that they dedicate themselves to. Movement's mission is to build their company around professionals who have committed their life's work to the headhunting business. Peter Drucker once said, "Culture eats strategy for breakfast." We couldn't agree more, […]
EXPANDING HEADQUARTERS, BREAKING RECORDS & HEADING TO MEXICO!
Movement Search & Delivery, a professional headhunting firm with a global reach, is expanding their headquarters once again. "Construction on Expansion v3.0 is underway. We have acquired additional space in the Clarkston Mills building and we are combining new age technology while keeping the historic charm of the building," says Doug Scott, General Manager of […]
BREAKING RECORDS, EXPANDING HEADQUARTERS, AND BEING COOL
Movement Search & Delivery, a professional headhunting firm with global reach, hit the ball out of the park with another record-breaking year. "Year after year we crush our goals and 2014 wasn't any different. Within five years, Movement has grown to become an $8.4 million dollar company, that's a 30% increase from 2013," boasts Doug […]
Movement Unveils Renovation of Headquarters.
Movement Search & Delivery, a professional headhunting firm with global reach, recently held their annual summer party for their employees, families, clients and leaders of the Clarkston community. The event tabbed, "Friends of Movement" was much larger than previous years as the firm showcased the renovations of their headquarters after five months of construction. "We […]
Movement Enters Into Year #5, Closes Out 2013 With Record Performance
Movement Search & Delivery, a professional headhunting firm with global reach, recently held their annual meeting in February 2014 at the Motor City Hotel & Casino in Downtown Detroit. The entire staff came together to review the firm's performance in 2013 and launched their 2014 initiatives. The event was capped off with a cocktail and […]
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MVMT EXPANDS TO ROYAL OAK, MI. ANNOUNCES PROMOTION OF PENNYCOOK May 21, 2018
MVMT Takes Root In Charleston, SC. April 20, 2018
MOVEMENT Celebrates Record Year in 2017 with 2018 Annual Meeting Bash in Detroit March 8, 2018
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How can a company owner decide if freight factoring is right for his or her business? The key is finding out what the process involves ahead of time. Factoring is not a loan, rather, it's a cash advance based on the value of existing customer invoices. When a factoring application is approved, the factoring company issues cash payment of up to 85 percent of the invoice value. After the customer pays off the invoice, the factoring company takes the remaining percentage, subtracts its fee, and remits the rest to the business.
While business owners don't need to pass a credit check, they do need to have creditworthy customers to qualify for the arrangement. This is because factoring companies extend the cash advance based on the likelihood that a customer will pay his or her invoice on time.
There are a few things for business owners to keep in mind when they're considering applying for freight factoring. One of the most important things is to check the reputation and background of any prospective factoring company before deciding to enlist their services. The factoring fees and rates vary widely depending on the company, so it's wise for a company owner to compare prices and contract terms before he or she completes an application.
Another item to remember when considering freight factoring is to decide whether or not to enter into a long-term factoring contract. A good rule of thumb is to always begin with a short-term contract and then decide whether to consider the business relationship. This way, a company owner has time to evaluate the factor's services without becoming bound to an extended contract term.
While freight and trucking companies commonly face cash flow issues, they can also ease some of their financial strains by taking advantage of freight factoring. With these tips about how to use freight factoring, freight company owners can make sure their businesses remain successful during tough economic times.


text:
Q: Analytical solution for Linear Regression using Python vs. Julia Using example from Andrew Ng's class (finding parameters for Linear Regression using normal equation):
With Python:
X = np.array([[1, 2104, 5, 1, 45], [1, 1416, 3, 2, 40], [1, 1534, 3, 2, 30], [1, 852, 2, 1, 36]])
y = np.array([[460], [232], [315], [178]])
θ = ((np.linalg.inv(X.T.dot(X))).dot(X.T)).dot(y)
print(θ)

Result:
[[  7.49398438e+02]
 [  1.65405273e-01]
 [ -4.68750000e+00]
 [ -4.79453125e+01]
 [ -5.34570312e+00]]

With Julia:
X = [1 2104 5 1 45; 1 1416 3 2 40; 1 1534 3 2 30; 1 852 2 1 36]
y = [460; 232; 315; 178]

θ = ((X' * X)^-1) * X' * y

Result:
5-element Array{Float64,1}:
 207.867
   0.0693359
 134.906
 -77.0156
  -7.81836

Furthermore, when I multiple X by Julia's — but not Python's — θ, I get numbers close to y.
I can't figure out what I am doing wrong. Thanks!

A: Notice that X is a 4x5 matrix or in statistical terms that you have fewer observations than parameters to estimate. Therefore, the least squares problem has infinitely many solutions with the sum of the squared errors exactly equal to zero. In this case, the normal equations don't help you much because the matrix X'X is singular. Instead, you should just find a solution to X*b=y.
Most numerical linear algebra systems are based on the FORTRAN package LAPACK which uses the a pivoted QR factorization for solving the problem X*b=y. Since there are infinitely many solutions, LAPACK's picks the solution with the smallest norm. In Julia, you can get this solution, simply by writing
float(X)\y
(Unfortunately, the float part is necessary right now, but that will change.)
In exact arithmetic, you should get the same solution as the one above with either of your proposed methods, but the floating point representation of you problem introduces small rounding errors and these errors will affect the calculated solution. The effect of the rounding errors on the solution is much larger when using the normal equations compared to using the QR factorization directly on X.
This holds true also in the usual case where X has more rows than columns so often it is recommended that you avoid the normal equations when solving least squares problems. However, when X has many more rows than columns, the matrix X'X is relatively small. In this case, it will be much faster to solve the problem with the normal equations instead of using the QR factorization. In many statistical problems, the extra numerical error is extremely small compared to the statical error so the loss of precision due to the normal equations can simply be ignored.

A: Using X^-1 vs the pseudo inverse
pinv(X) which corresponds to the pseudo inverse is more broadly applicable than inv(X), which X^-1 equates to. Neither Julia nor Python do well using inv, but in this case apparently Julia does better.
but if you change the expression to
julia> z=pinv(X'*X)*X'*y
5-element Array{Float64,1}:
 188.4
   0.386625
 -56.1382
 -92.9673
  -3.73782

you can verify that X*z = y
julia> X*z
4-element Array{Float64,1}:
 460.0
 232.0
 315.0
 178.0

A: A more numerically robust approach in Python, without having to do the matrix algebra yourself is to use numpy.linalg.lstsq to do the regression:
In [29]: np.linalg.lstsq(X, y)
Out[29]:
(array([[ 188.40031942],
        [   0.3866255 ],
        [ -56.13824955],
        [ -92.9672536 ],
        [  -3.73781915]]),
 array([], dtype=float64),
 4,
 array([  3.08487554e+03,   1.88409728e+01,   1.37100414e+00,
          1.97618336e-01]))

(Compare the solution vector with @waTeim's answer in Julia).
You can see the source of the ill-conditioning by printing the matrix inverse you're calculating:
In [30]: np.linalg.inv(X.T.dot(X))
Out[30]:
array([[ -4.12181049e+13,   1.93633440e+11,  -8.76643127e+13,
         -3.06844458e+13,   2.28487459e+12],
       [  1.93633440e+11,  -9.09646601e+08,   4.11827338e+11,
          1.44148665e+11,  -1.07338299e+10],
       [ -8.76643127e+13,   4.11827338e+11,  -1.86447963e+14,
         -6.52609055e+13,   4.85956259e+12],
       [ -3.06844458e+13,   1.44148665e+11,  -6.52609055e+13,
         -2.28427584e+13,   1.70095424e+12],
       [  2.28487459e+12,  -1.07338299e+10,   4.85956259e+12,
          1.70095424e+12,  -1.26659193e+11]])

Eeep!
Taking the dot product of this with X.T leads to a catastrophic loss of precision.